About CRF

OUR MISSION

The Cleveland Rowing Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to support, facilitate and promote the sport of rowing and other recreational uses of the Cuyahoga River by partnering with member organizations and the community.

We own and operate the Boathouse at Rivergate Park with rack space to store 240 shells and rowing equipment. In 2015, we opened the adjacent Sculling House with room for 108 sculls. The Boathouse contains a 2,000 square-foot Ergometer Room that is available to the members of all affiliated organizations. We own and maintain 360 feet of dock space on the Cuyahoga and own 15 motorized launches for use by member organizations and their coaches. We control 4.4 acres of land at Rivergate Park and share additional open space and amenities with Cleveland Metroparks and the City of Cleveland’s Skate Park.

The Boathouse and other properties are continually being improved and upgraded. Since the fall of 2014 we have:

Thanks to the generosity of our donors and the financial discipline of our board, we have done all this while also paying off our mortgage and acquiring additional property to the north of our campus that will allow for future expansion and flexibility.

We’re committed to reinvigorating Cleveland’s riverfront

When we looked to move into the old Commodore Club marina, we promised our generous donors that we could catalyze a new era of growth of redevelopment in the Flats. We kept that promise. Rivergate Park has become the premier location for active recreation on the Cuyahoga. The presence of the Cleveland Metroparks, with its popular Merwin’s Wharf restaurant and bar, has added activity and security to the complex. So has the City of Cleveland’s Skate Park. This once isolated corner of the city now bustles all year round. The opening of a second boathouse across Columbus Road from Rivergate Park only confirms the vision of the Cleveland Rowing Foundation in committing to this location and to Cleveland’s waterfront. Going forward, we look to cooperate with kayakers, paddle boarders, dragon boat enthusiasts and anyone else who wants to use the river safely —and to do so without impinging on the commercial activity that has made the Cuyahoga one of Cleveland’s key economic assets for more than 200 years.